Joker: Folie à Deux

Combining movie genres can be tricky business. When the mix is right, the outcome can be truly impressive, but, when it’s off, it can spell cinematic disaster. In the case of this long-awaited sequel to the 2019 box office and critically acclaimed success, unfortunately, the result is closer to the latter than the former. Picking up where the protagonist’s story left off, this saga about charismatic villain Arthur Fleck (a.k.a., the Joker) (Joaquin Phoenix) finds him in prison awaiting trial for his string of heinous crimes. Most of the picture’s first half takes place here, an unlikely venue for Arthur meeting the love of his life, the psychopathic Lee Quinzel (a.k.a., Harley Quinn) (Lady Gaga), who diligently stands by her man when he eventually goes to court, the primary focus of the film’s second half. So, at this point, the picture is already part prison film, part courtroom drama and part dark romance. But, if that weren’t enough, writer-director Todd Phillips draws upon a fourth genre – musicals – to make the mix even more overstuffed (but, hey, if you’ve got a talent like Lady Gaga at your disposal, why not, right?). The result is a convoluted, overlong, often-uninteresting offering that’s heavy on style but weak on substance and not especially interesting. Admittedly, the performances of the two leads and many of the supporting players (Brendan Gleeson, Catherine Keener and Steve Coogan in particular) are quite good, doing a more than commendable job of making this material look far better than it actually is. In addition, stylistically speaking, the picture is terrific when it comes to its production design, costuming and cinematography. And the soundtrack is great, too, including an array of superbly chosen standards to complement the narrative (even if there are a few too many selections). But these strengths by themselves aren’t enough to make a good picture overall; what’s stuck in between these elements feels more like filler than substance, and that’s where the movie falls apart. In my view, “Joker: Folie à Deux” isn’t as resoundingly awful as many reviewers have made it out to be in light of its artistic and aesthetic accomplishments, but that doesn’t mean this release is not without its share of problems, most notably in the dreadful writing and mishandled film editing. This is one of those pictures where you get to the end and are likely to heave a heavy “Ho hum, so what?” And that’s regrettable, given that the character and this picture’s predecessor both deserved better than what this follow-up has to offer. If you haven’t seen this yet, you might be better off sticking to the picture’s genuinely stellar trailer, as that’s ultimately much better than most of what’s found in this clunky 2:18:00 release.